Album Review

Saul Williams' Not in My Name EP is a protest record that comes with a number of variations and remixes of "The Pledge of Resistance," a caustic spoken word piece that both begins the disc and reflects the aim of Not in My Name, a proresistance, antiwar project led by artists. DJ Spooky, the executive producer here, provides three different backdrops for Williams' piece, while DJ Goo and Coldcut each provide one. Despite all the fittingly noisy production work done by those involved, Williams' pledge has the most impact when it's unadorned.

Biography

Formed: 1986 in London, England

Genre: Electronic

Years Active: '80s, '90s, '00s

DJs Jonathan More and Matt Black, aka Coldcut, rose to acclaim in the mid-'80s through production and remix work for a number of modern rock, hip-hop, and dance outfits, including Yaz, Lisa Stansfield, Junior Reid, Blondie, Eric B. & Rakim, and Queen Latifah. While that connection has pegged them as a product of the U.K. acid house and rave scenes, the pair's larger commitment has been to urban breakbeat styles such as hip-hop, ambient dub, and jungle; the three of which have constituted the...